Cyclone Fani LIVE: ‘Extremely Severe’ Storm 450 Km Off Odisha Coast, 8 Lakh to Be Evacuated by Evening

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team arrives in Andhra Pradesh’s Ichchapuram, Srikakulam in view of Cyclone Fani.

Andhra Pradesh: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team arrives in Ichchapuram, Srikakulam in view of #CycloneFani. pic.twitter.com/jr3UafGyBZ

— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2019

Two More Special Train from Puri to Howrah | South Eastern Railway said two more special trains will start from Puri at 3 pm and 6 pm today for Howrah. Stoppages- Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Jajpur, Kendujhar road, Bhadrak, Balasore & Kharagpur.

HR Biswas, Director, Met Department, Bhubaneswar said, “Today mostly south coastal Odisha and adjoining interior Odisha will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall. Tomorrow all 11 coastal districts along with adjoining interior districts will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall."

HR Biswas, Director, Met Dept, Bhubaneswar: Today mostly south coastal Odisha & adjoining interior Odisha will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall. Tomorrow all 11 coastal districts along with & adjoining interior districts will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall. #Fani pic.twitter.com/mD0g1hG0WT

— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2019

Ten days rainfall forecast – ECMWF based on 00 UTC data for May 1.

Location of Cyclone FANI by IMD, based on May 2 05:30 IST.

Anticipated Impacts from May 3 to May 4 as cyclone FANI is likely to have landfall on May 3 afternoon near Puri, Odisha.

Help desks in Puri and Bhubaneswar to guide the passengers to avail the special trains and for other information.

@RailMinIndia @eastcoastrail
Help desks in Puri and Bhubaneswar to guide the passengers to avail the special trains and for other information. @drmsambalpur @drmwat_ecor pic.twitter.com/GWXLRlqWWZ

— DRM Khurdaroad (@DRMKhurdaroad) May 2, 2019

Special announcements in Puri sea beach near hotels to avail the special trains.

While Cyclone Fani is yet to make landfall in Odisha, the Nilachakra Bana (the holy flag fixed atop Lord Jagannath's temple at Puri), snaps off due to gusty winds. The process of changing the flag is underway.

Trains cancelled, diverted, partially cancelled in view of Fani cyclone.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik appeals for calm. He said his government is fully prepared to face cyclone Fani and urged people to co-operate with government officials on the ground.

Special Train from Puri to Shalimar | The East Coast Railways (EcoR) has decided to run one special train from Puri to Shalimar (Calcutta) at 12 noon today. Efforts are on for two more special trains towards Kolkota today from Puri. Detailed timings are being worked out.

Action suggested | Action Suggested for Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha

- Total suspension of fishing operations.

- Extensive evacuation from coastal areas.

- Diversion or suspension of rail and road traffic.

- People in affected areas to remain indoors.

- Movement in motor boats and small ships not advisable.

Damage Expected in Odisha​ | Damage Expected for Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur districts of Odisha.

• Extensive damage to all types of kutcha houses, some damage to old badly managed Pucca structures. Potential threat from flying objects.
• Extensive uprooting of communication and power poles.
• Disruption of rail/road link at several places.
• Extensive damage to standing crops, plantations, orchards.
• Blowing down of Palm and coconut trees.
• Uprooting of large bushy trees.
• Large boats and ships may get torn from their moorings.

Wind Warning | Gale wind speed reaching 180-190 kmph gusting to 210 kmph is very likely to prevail over westcentral Bay of Bengal around system centre during next 24 hours and decrease thereafter.

- Squally wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is very likely to prevail along & off north Andhra Pradesh & Odisha Coasts and become gale wind speed reaching 60-70 kmph gusting to 85 kmph from 2 nd May night. It is very likely to become 170-180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph along & off south Odisha & adjoining north Andhra Pradesh (Srikakulam District) coasts; and 90-100 kmph gusting to 115 kmph along & off remaining districts of coastal Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh (Visakhapatnam and Vijayanagaram Districts) by 3rd May forenoon for subsequent 12 hours and decrease thereafter.

- Squally wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is very likely along & off West Bengal coast from 2 nd May evening. It is very likely become gale wind speed reaching 60- 70 kmph gusting to 85 kmph from 3 rd May afternoon and become 90-100 kmph gusting to 115 kmph from 4th May early morning for subsequent 12 hours and decrease thereafter.

Puri administration arranged special buses to Kolkata for tourists.

Heavy Rainfall Warning | India Meteorological Department in its bulletin warned of heavy rainfall in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.

North Andhra Pradesh: Light to moderate rainfall at most places with isolated heavy to very heavy falls over Visakhapatnam and Vijayanagaram Districts and isolated heavy to extremely heavy falls (>20 cm) over Srikakulam district on 2nd May and with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over Srikakulam district on 3rd May.

Odisha: Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places very likely over south coastal & adjoining interior Odisha on 2nd May. It is likely to increase with moderate rainfall at most places and heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy falls (>20 cm) at isolated places over coastal Odisha & adjoining districts of interior Odisha on 3rd. Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places over Balasore, Mayurbhanj districts of north Odisha on 4th May.

West Bengal: Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very falls at isolated places very likely over coastal & adjoining districts of West Bengal on 3rd; and with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy falls at isolated places over Gangetic West Bengal on 4th May. Light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy falls at isolated places over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim on 4th May.

Arunachal Pradesh and Assam & Meghalaya: Light to moderate rainfall at most places with isolated heavy to very heavy falls very likely over Arunachal Pradesh and Assam & Meghalaya on 4 th & 5 th May; with isolated extremely heavy falls over Assam & Meghalaya on 4th . Light to moderate rainfall at many places with isolated heavy falls very likely over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura on 4th .

The cyclone is being tracked by Doppler Weather Radars Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Machilipatnam. Forecast track and intensity are given in the following table:

The Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm FANI (pronounced as ‘FONI’) over West-central Bay of Bengal moved north-northeastwards with a speed of about 15 kmph in last six hours and lay centred at 05.30 hrs IST of May 2, 2019 over West-central Bay of Bengal near latitude 15.9°N and longitude 84.5°E, about 450 km south-southwest of Puri (Odisha), 230 km south-southeast of Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 650 km south-southwest of Digha (West Bengal). It is very likely to move north-northeastwards and cross Odisha Coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, around Puri during May 3 afternoon with a maximum sustained wind speed of 170- 180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph.

Satellite Images of 12.00 am May 2.

PM Modi's Rallies Postponed in West Bengal | Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public rallies at Tamluk in East Midnapore and in Jhargram scheduled on May 5 has been postponed due to Cyclone Fani. Now the rallies will be held on May 6.

In view of the extremely severe cyclone Fani forecasted by IMD to make landfall on East Coast on May 3, DRMs (Divisional Railway Manager) are advised to take following action in preparedness:

- Frequent announcements are to be made at important stations for sensitizing the passengers about Cancellations, Short termination and Diversion of Coaching trains in both direction of BHC-VSKP Section. The full refund shall be granted to the passengers for the cancelled/diverted trains if the tickets are produced for cancellation within three days from the scheduled departure of trains.

- Dry Food items, Janata Khana & Water bottles in sufficient quantity are to be made available at Catering Stalls of all major stations.

- Due to the dislocation of train services,  the situation may warrant transhipment of passengers. Local transporters are to be contracted for the hiring of road vehicles for meeting exigencies as and where necessary.

- Sufficient amount of cash must be available at major stations for granting refunds to passengers and meeting other exigencies. Frontline staff are to be advised to be extremely polite while dealing with passengers and leaving no scope for complaint.

- Emergency control is to operate round the clock with a helpline number for guiding passengers.

Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm FANI about 540 km south-southwest of Puri at 11.30 pm of May 01, 2019. To cross Odisha coast around Puri during May 3.

All schools and colleges will be closed for the next three days in Odisha. Over 8 lakh people in the coastal districts are being evacuated, said officials in the state government.

The extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani over Westcentral Bay of Bengal moved north-northeastwards with a speed of about 07 kmph in last six hours and lay centred ar 2.30 of May 2, 2019 near latitude 15.5°N and longitude of 84.2°E, about 510 km south-south-west of Puri, 260 km south-southeasr of Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh and 700 km south-southwest of Digha, West Bengal.

Chandrababu Naidu Urges EC to Give MCC Relaxation | Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu stated that the Real Time Governance Centre (RTGC) and environment department has already warned that there are possibilities that Fani can turn out to be a severe cyclone with a high devastation rate. Citing earlier cyclones like Hudhud and Thitli, Naidu mentioned how the government mechanism had worked then and rescued those stranded. The CM highlighted the need of active governance in the emergency situation and requested the ECI to give relief from the election code of conduct. CM said that ministers and officials can work effectively as there is a need for emergency services.

Odisha Schools to Remain Shut from Today | All educational institutions in the state will remain shut from today in light of the cyclonic storm. As a part of its mitigation strategy, the Naveen Patnaik-led government in the state handed special supervision charges to nine IAS officers. Out of these, seven bureaucrats are tasked with supervising relief, rescue and rehabilitation charges in six districts and have been asked to join their duties in the districts by afternoon.

The Odisha government and the disaster management forces on Wednesday carried out massive preparation and coordination exercises to minimise possible damage from Cyclone Fani, which is expected to pass through the coastal state on Friday.

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has evacuated 480 of its employees from rigs operating in the Bay of Bengal ahead of an impending cyclone that is expected to make landfall on Friday. Sources said ONGC has also moved at least four rigs to safer waters away from the path of severe cyclonic storm Fani. The company had as many as six rigs exploring and drilling for oil and gas off the Andhra coast. Personnel on five of them have been completely evacuated to safer zones, they said. The evacuated rigs include Aban-II (85 personnel), DD-8 (103), Louisiana (83) and Essar Wildcat (87 personnel).